The stylish, lively and vibrant city of Leeds has become renowned for its plethora of bars, restaurants and nightlife. In the UK's second largest financial city, people work hard and play hard, so parties are well catered for and revelers will be spoilt for choice. But what if you want to make a real impact with unconventional surroundings? If you're looking for unusual party venues, Leeds has plenty to choose from. For a large corporate event that demands an exclusive event space, or a children's venue for a party, Leeds favourites on Call Lane or Park Row simply won't ...

Many people use the word "fraud" in daily language to mean many things. In daily use, it means dishonesty. But the more casual use of the word often misleads people to think that they have a legal case based on fraud merely because someone lied to them. That is not always the case. In the courts, the term "fraud" has a very specific and well-defined meaning. In fact, in order to bring a lawsuit based on fraud, you must prove certain, very specific things: 1. Someone made a misrepresentation of fact to you; 2. They knew it was not true when they ...

Veritas Press Scholars Academy, a division of Veritas Press, Inc. announces today that it is offering a special, pre-release group discount for their highly acclaimed, long-awaited Self-Paced Omnibus I Primary course. Offered in an engaging, entertaining and educational online format, the Self-Paced Omnibus 1 course covers Ancient World history, Doctrine and Theology and Ancient Literature for the Biblical and Classical Civilizations time period. This Self-Paced, Online Program Features: - In-depth and fun teaching by Bruce Etter, Headmaster of Veritas Press Scholars ...

Mansfield Ohio will play host to Ohio's only Tough Mudder event, and one of only a handful in the Midwest, on April 27-28, 2013, at Mansfield Lahm Airport. Those who wish to register may do so at until April 22 at www.ToughMudder.com; then visit www.MansfieldTourism.com and click on the Tough Mudder logo for local hotel and visitor information, discounts and details on the "Tell Us About Your Team" contest. The contest encourages teams to tell their stories and upload photos for a chance to win T-shirts and a grand prize spot on a large local billboard. Developed ...

Britain's cotton industry heritage is the focus of a new GBP1.4 million fundraising appeal to complete the restoration of an entire industrial landscape, and bring its stories to life for thousands of visitors. Cared for by the National Trust, Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire was, from the 1780s to the 1920s, at the heart of cotton production in the region and is the most complete survival of an industrial revolution community. It marks a period of British history of immense change and prosperity, but also grinding poverty. Its restoration will enable these stories to ...

Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of people planning to retire this year say they don't feel ready to stop work yet, and more than a fifth (21 per cent) say they don't like the idea of being at home all of the time in retirement, according to new figures* released by Prudential. Its Class of 2013 research, the latest of the annual studies conducted by Prudential since 2008, tracks the plans and expectations of people entering retirement this year. The report reveals a positive shift in attitudes towards retirement, despite the fact that it can be a financially challenging ...

SEAT has revealed the latest addition to its Leon range which will debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The Leon SC is a striking three-door hatchback that is the perfect embodiment of the SEAT design language. Without compromising everyday usability, it becomes the most sporting model in the SEAT range, blending stunning looks with a functional interior - a mix of excellent workmanship and premium materials, with plenty of room for all occupants. At 380 litres, even the luggage compartment is as generously proportioned as that of the five-door variant. "The ...

Scientists around the world have crossed a threshold into a promising and challenging new era in the quest for fusion energy. So says physicist George "Hutch" Neilson, director of advanced projects at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, in remarks prepared for the 2013 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston. The new phase has begun with the construction of ITER, a fusion facility of unprecedented size and power that the European Union, the United States and five other countries are building ...

Evidence of a shift in U.S. demographics and importance of minorities took center stage during the Presidential election, but how do those growing toward majority acquire representation in our educational and technological communities? Accelerating programs that mentor and move minorities forward to majorities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is one method that is gaining traction, said Castillo-Chavez, one of a trio of Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Engineering and Mathematics (PAESMEM) Mentors speaking at the American Association for ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Aphasia, an impairment in speaking and understanding language after a stroke, is frustrating both for victims and their loved ones. In two talks Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013, at the conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston, Sheila Blumstein, the Albert D. Mead Professor of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences at Brown University, will describe how she has been translating decades of brain science research into a potential therapy for improving speech production in these patients. Blumstein ...

BOSTON, MA -- Learning, memory and habits are encoded in the strength of connections between neurons in the brain, the synapses. These connections aren't meant to be fixed, they're changeable, or plastic. Duke University neurologist and neuroscientist Nicole Calakos studies what happens when those connections aren't as adaptable as they should be in the basal ganglia, the brain's "command center" for turning information into actions. "The basal ganglia is the part of the brain that drives the car when you're not thinking too hard about it," Calakos said. It's also ...

The fibrous threads helping mussels stay anchored – in spite of waves that sometimes pound the shore with a force equivalent to a jet liner flying at 600 miles per hour – are more prone to snap when ocean temperatures climb higher than normal. At the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Boston, Emily Carrington, a University of Washington professor of biology, reported that the fibrous threads she calls "nature's bungee cords" become 60 percent weaker in water that was 15 degrees F (7 C) above typical summer temperatures where the mussels were ...

When it comes to sticking power under wet conditions, marine mussels are hard to beat. They can adhere to virtually all inorganic and organic surfaces, sustaining their tenacious bonds in saltwater, including turbulent tidal environments. Northwestern University's Phillip B. Messersmith will discuss his research in a talk titled "Mussel-Inspired Materials for Surgical Repair and Drug Delivery" at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Boston. His presentation is part of the symposium "Translation of Mussel Adhesion to Beneficial ...

In a world of increasing global connections, predicting the spread of infectious diseases is more complicated than ever. Pandemics no longer follow the patterns they did centuries ago, when diseases swept through populations town by town; instead, they spread quickly and seemingly at random, spurred by the interactions of 3 billion air travelers per year. A computational model developed by Northwestern University's Dirk Brockmann could provide better insight into how today's diseases might strike. Brockmann, an associate professor of engineering sciences and applied mathematics ...

Efforts to reduce lead pollution have paid off in many ways, yet the problem persists and will probably continue to affect the health of people and animals well into the future, according to experts speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston. "Things have substantially improved with the virtual elimination of leaded gasoline, restrictions on lead paint, and other efforts to limit releases of industrial lead into the environment. But the historic legacy of lead pollution persists, and new inputs of industrial ...

For women in science and research, finding a network of colleagues in their specialized area might be difficult: relevant researchers and activists can be spread across generations, cultures and continents. Finding a mentor within this group proves particularly difficult for young women and minorities. Northwestern University's Noshir Contractor will discuss his network research in a presentation titled "Understanding and Enabling Networks Among Women's Groups in Sustainable Development" at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting ...

Cynthia Thompson, a world-renowned researcher on stroke and brain damage, will discuss her groundbreaking research on aphasia and the neurolinguistic systems it affects Feb. 16 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). An estimated one million Americans suffer from aphasia, affecting their ability to understand and/or produce spoken and/or written language. Thompson, Northwestern's Ralph and Jean Sundin Professor of Communication Sciences, will participate in a 10 a.m. media briefing on "Tools for Regaining Speech" in Room ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- As people move more often and become more urbanized, skin color -- an adaptation that took hundreds of thousands of years to develop in humans -- may lose some of its evolutionary advantage, according to a Penn State anthropologist. About 2 million years ago, permanent dark skin color imparted by the pigment -- melanin -- began to evolve in humans to regulate the body's reaction to ultraviolet rays from the sun, said Nina Jablonski, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology. Melanin helped humans maintain the delicate balance between too much ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. -- Just as ice sheets slide slowly and steadily into the ocean, researchers are returning from each trip to the Arctic and Antarctic with more data about climate change, including information that will help improve current models on how climate change will affect life on the earth, according to a Penn State geologist. "It is not just correlation, it is causation," said Richard Alley, Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences. "We know that warming is happening and it's causing the sea levels to rise and if we expect more warming, we can expect the sea levels ...

BOSTON – Researchers today more than ever focus their work on real-world problems, often times making their research relevant to the public locally, regionally and sometimes nationally. But engaging the public in their research can be a daunting task for researchers both professionally and personally. Leah Gerber, an Arizona State University associate professor in the School of Life Sciences and a senior sustainability scientist in the School of Sustainability, has identified impediments to productive science communication and she shared her recommendations at the 2013 ...

Why is the world so full of "morons" and "degenerates" and what, if anything, can be done to fix them? These are questions that Robert W. Sussman, PhD, a professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, will explore Feb. 15 as he addresses the 2013 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston, Mass. — one of the world's largest gatherings of scientific researchers. Sussman will deliver a talk on "The Importance of the Concept of Culture to Science and Society" (http://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2013/webprogram/Paper8433.html ...

Around the world, at least a billion people are hungry or need better diets. To feed a global population projected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050, we will need to increase food production by as much as 70 percent, most analysts believe. Achieving that goal requires civilization to address overpopulation and overconsumption through a bottom-up movement focused on agricultural, environmental and demographic planning, among other strategies, argues Stanford Woods Institute Senior Fellow Paul Ehrlich (Biology). A crucial first step is to give equal rights to women worldwide, ...

TORONTO, Feb. 15, 2013—Considering the many things a cancer patient has to think about, it's easy to understand why maintaining proper nutrition may not be top of mind. This can be true, too, at busy outpatient settings where it's often difficult to find the time and resources to test cancer patients for malnutrition. However, researchers at St. Michael's Hospital have found a shorter version of a commonly used nutrition-assessment tool does the job effectively and can potentially improve outcomes for cancer patients. "The full-length test for malnutrition is too ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. – University at Buffalo engineers have created a more efficient way to catch rainbows, an advancement in photonics that could lead to technological breakthroughs in solar energy, stealth technology and other areas of research. Qiaoqiang Gan, PhD, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at UB, and a team of graduate students described their work in a paper called "Rainbow Trapping in Hyperbolic Metamaterial Waveguide," published Feb. 13 in the online journal Scientific Reports. They developed a "hyperbolic metamaterial waveguide," which is essentially ...

Evaluation of PEPFAR, a new report from the Institute of Medicine, presents the results of an assessment of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief as requested by Congress in its reauthorization of funding for the initiative in 2008. The report includes recommendations for how PEPFAR and its partner countries can most effectively sustain and advance gains made in preventing and treating the HIV/AIDS epidemic worldwide. Congress will review the initiative later this year. The report will be released at a public briefing starting at 9 a.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 20 ...